Chapter eight
"What could you possibly want to talk to me about? Wondering why I'm here and not with Draco?" I snapped. I had had quite enough of the comments people were making.
"Well, yes, it is about Malfoy – er... Draco," she said, correcting herself when I glowered at her.
"What about him?" I said, staring up at her. I swear... If she says anything insulting...
"Well, you lied to me and Ron about him, Harry. Obviously, we would think it's strange that you – kissed ... Malfoy – Uh, Draco – but we're your friends, Harry, you should be able to talk to us," Hermione said, a hand on Ron's arm to keep him quiet.
"Hermione, honestly. You kiss your worst enemy, who is the same sex as you on top of it all, and your best friends are shocked when you don't tell them. Let's think about that for a moment, shall we?" I snapped. She was never going to understand.
"Harry I know. But you lied! To me and to Ron. We know you've been sleeping in the Astronomy Tower with Draco, we've heard all the rumors. Now we want to know, from you, how much of it is true," Hermione said, tightening her grip on Ron when he opened his mouth to say something.
"How much of what is true?" I said, blinking. I hadn't heard any rumors... Only what was true.
"Well... I heard from some fifth year Ravenclaws yesterday that Draco takes you up there, puts the Imperious curse on you then rapes you..." Ron said, speaking for the first time in a rather dry voice.
"Excuse me? You both know perfectly well that I can throw off the Imperious curse," I said, brushing the entire thing to the side.
"Yes, well, that's what we thought, too. But last time it was imposter Moody putting on you...." Hermione started.
"Voldemort has put it on me, too. I fought it then as well. Anything else?" I said testily.
"Harry, honestly, we're just worried about you and you know it. Will you stop acting like... him and more like yourself?" Hermione said, grabbing my shoulders and shaking me.
"If by 'him' you mean Draco, I am not acting like him. I am acting like anyone in my position would. Will you please leave Draco out of this for five minutes?" I said the last part in a whisper. I couldn't stand to hear him insulted and dragged into conversations that way.
"I'm sorry Harry..." Hermione said, her expression saying quite plainly that she didn't know what to do.
A sudden thought struck me, and I had to ask her.
"Hermione, how did you find out about Draco and I anyway?" I said, looking at her.
"Well.... I saw you, in the corridor, when you said you were going to do Snape's essay..." She said, looking rather nervous, perhaps wondering how I'd react to knowing that she had spied on me.
Quite the contrary, actually. Dawning comprehension flooded my mind as I remembered that the sound of footsteps had been why me and Draco stopped kissing when we did...
"So it was you...." I said, continuing to stare blankly up at her.
"Pardon?"
"Draco and I heard footsteps... It must have been you... Why did you follow me?" I was getting over the firewall that the comprehension had created in my mind and was starting to feel the anger of having been spied on.
"I'm sorry, Harry.... I didn't mean to... I didn't even know you were around that corner..." Hermione said, looking genuinely sorry.
Ron, who had somehow managed to keep his temper for this long, finally exploded. Not at me, but at Hermione.
"What do you think you're doing? You're not going to get all snivelly and forgive him, are you? It's not even that he's with Malfoy, but it's the fact that he had to lie about it!" Ron said very loudly. Loud enough, in fact, to attract the attention of several first years, visibly terrifying them.
"Ron... You don't understand," I started to say.
Perhaps it was a horrible revelation for him to find out that his best friend was gay. Perhaps it was a truth that he would rather a falsehood than that his best friend was not only gay, but with both of our worst enemy. Perhaps. But that didn't excuse how he was treating me. Not by a long shot.
"What's not to understand?" Ron snapped. It was now Hermione's turn to fall completely silent.
"Everything," I snapped back.
"I understand perfectly. You'd rather be with Drakie-poo than with us," Ron said as though it settled the matter.
"Ron, that's insane. You're my best friend... Can't you just be happy for me?"
"It would be a lot easier to be happy for you if we weren't constantly worrying that he's going to curse you or something..." Hermione interjected.
"Hermione, for the last time, he isn't going to curse me. Ask him yourself and see what you think. He's sitting with us at dinner tonight," with that, I got up and left the common room. Dinner started in about a half an hour...
~*~
"Hello, Harry," Draco said, walking up behind me and massaging my shoulders for a moment before sitting down next to me. It was amazing how he could completely ignore all the stares and taunts... I wish I knew how he did it. "Hello," I said back, hugging him after he sat down. I, unlike him, felt myself blush at the looks that the simple touch earned us.
"Now then. I don't think that the two of you ever properly met Draco, have you..." I said, straining the words 'properly met'.
"No, I don't think we have..." Hermione said uncertainly, but extending her hand across the table to shake Draco's. Draco wrapped his free arm around my waist.
"At least Hermione is making an effort at being civil..." I thought to myself as Draco shook her hand. To my surprise, he was smiling, not cringing.
Ron had the ugliest look on his face that I had ever seen. He was glaring at Draco as though he were the reason that Christmas had been cancelled.
"What are you staring at Weasley?" Draco said, glaring back. I felt the arm that he had around me tighten in a physical effort to restrain his temper.
"Draco... Ron... Don't start," I said, giving them both a warning glance.
"I won't... If he doesn't," Draco said, loosening his grip.
I started to answer but Dumbledore rose to give his usual speech.
"Good evening, young students of Hogwarts. Some younger than others, obviously. I just have a few reminders for you, then we can get on with the meal. First, I would like to remind you that there is to be no dueling in the corridors. Secondly, I would like to point out that the Astronomy Tower is out of bounds except for classes and you would serve yourselves to stay away from there unless you're visiting for an educational purpose. With that said, enjoy your meal." Dumbledore finished his speech and sank back into his chair, at the precise moment that food began to magically appear on trays all over the tables.
My insides squirmed. I know that that speech and been directed at Draco and me... And I wasn't the only one who knew it. Blaise Zabini, for instance.
"Hey, Potter, Malfoy, did you like Dumbledore's speech? I guess that means no more midnight romps in the tower for you," he sniggered from just behind us, throwing bits of food at our backs.
"God damnit Zabini, stop it or I'll curse you into a million useless pieces!" Draco said after about fifteen minutes of this.
"No you won't. Dumbledore just said no dueling in the corridors," Zabini said, laughing but looking scared nonetheless.
"But this isn't a corridor, is it?" Draco whispered evilly and withdrawing his wand from his robes. "I don't care what you say about me, but stay away from Harry, he hasn't done anything to you."
At Draco's last words Ron dropped his fork, Hermione made a strangled noise of disbelief and Zabini, who had obviously taken the hint, was gaping soundlessly. I just felt a rush of gratitude the same as the one I had felt in the Slytherin Common Room.
"What?" Draco said, turning back toward Ron and Hermione and seeing the effect of his words.
"Oh look... A Malfoy capable of emotion," Ron said, mimicking Draco's bored drawl.
"Ron, don't!" I said, putting my fork down on my plate.
"Yes, I am, does this surprise you, Weasley?" Draco whispered dangerously, wrapping a protective arm around my waist.
"Yes, as a matter of fact, it does," Ron said, equal amounts of hate in his voice.
"Well, that doesn't surprise me. Look at where you were raised," Draco said loftily, taking another bite of his potatoes.
"Ron, Draco, STOP! You're driving me mad. It's bad enough with Zabini sitting back there throwing things at us without you two bickering like first years!" I shouted, pounding my fist angrily on the table.
Hermione looked a little surprised at my outburst, but nodded fervently in agreement.
"I'm sorry Harry..." they both whispered.
I felt bad for yelling at Draco, but it had been called for. I wanted more than anything to hug him right then, but I couldn't. There were too many people and this was neither the time nor the place. The only thing I felt about Ron was the inclination to hit him.
"Draco, I'm going to go for a walk..." I said, getting off the bench.
"Shall I go with you?" he asked me, grabbing at my hand before I could walk away.
"If you want..." I said slowly. I wanted to be by myself, but maybe being with Draco would help... It always had before.
He smiled and stood up, nodding a goodbye to Hermione.
Draco and I walked up to Gryffindor Tower, neither of us speaking until we were inside the common room.
He sank down into my favorite chair in front of the fireplace and I sat on the floor in front of him, resting my head on his knee.
"I'm sorry..." he whispered, his hands rubbing my shoulders.
"What for?" I whispered back, moving a little.
"For what I said to Ron... And about Blaise... And just everything..."
I didn't know what to say to that. I just wanted to hold him.
"Come on," I said, getting to my feet and lacing my fingers with his.
"Where?" he asked, blinking.
"Upstairs. There's no first years up there," I said, grinning. "And no Dobby, either." He snickered and got out of the chair to follow me up the steps. I pushed open to door to my dormitory and stepped inside. Draco shut the door behind us and we walked over to my four poster.
Nothing was said, just his lips pressing against mine. His right hand rubbed down my back while the left traveled carefully down my chest. One of my arms was wrapped around his neck and the other hung uselessly at my side.
He pulled away and gestured for me to lay down. Grinning, I pulled the blankets back and crawled underneath, waiting for him to follow. When he did, he turned me onto my back and straddled me just as I had him in the kitchens. I laughed at the memory of Dobby's squeaked protests, and Draco, perhaps reading my thoughts, laughed as well.
Draco leaned down and kissed me again, his chest and stomach pressing against mine as he did. My arms wrapped around him, both my hands rubbing up and down his back. I moaned a little when his lips moved over my cheek and down to my throat, where they teased relentlessly.
He stopped and pulled his own shirt off over his head, messing his brilliant blonde hair. I laughed. It was so cute to see him like that. Muscular chest and a beautiful face with his blonde hair everywhere.
"What exactly do you find so funny?" He asked, trying to sound angry at my laughing, but he was laughing himself.
"You," I said, grinning and running my hands over his chest.
In the moment before he answered me, I felt so many things at once it made me dizzy and weak. My green eyes stared up into his gray ones, looking deeper than they ever had before. I needed his kisses but I needed to hear his voice and I couldn't have both at once. I didn't have the strength in my arms to lift them any longer and they fell, my hands resting on his thighs.
"What about me?" Came his voice, breaking though my thoughts.
"Your hair is messed up," I said, grinning.
"Oh well," his voice came, in a whisper now.
His fingers snaked under my shirt, making movements to remove it. I sat up a little and he pulled it off over my head.
He leaned back down, his skin against me, his warm breath on my neck, his lips pressing to mine, his tongue teasing until I allowed him access, his tongue then massaging mine....
"What the hell?" came a voice that was neither mine nor Draco's.
Draco got off of me and lay down, pulling the blankets up around both me and him.
"Oh... Er... Hi, Ron..." I said awkwardly
Draco glared at him.
"What the hell are you doing?" Ron snapped, glaring right back at him.
"Well, we were kissing, now we're hiding from you under the blankets," Draco said. I couldn't argue with him, after all, it was true.
"Well, I think I'll just leave you at it before I get sick," Ron said, looking genuinely disgusted with what he had just witnessed.
"Can you lock the door behind you?" Draco asked in hopeful sarcasm. I laughed.
Ron just shook his head and left, slamming the door behind him.
Draco laughed and lay on his back, pulling me close and moving me so that my head was on his chest.
"Comfy Harry?" He whispered, kissing the top of my head.
I just nodded, my bare cheek rubbing his skin. I was suddenly very tired and just wanted to be held.
"I have never been more comfortable in my entire life..." I said quietly.
I draped an arm over his waist and took his hand, squeezing gently. His hand rubbed my bare back and I took a deep, shaking breath.
"I feel bad... About Ron...." I said, squirming a little.
"Don't be... Don't think about him right now... just rest, I can tell you're tired..." Draco whispered soothingly, petting my skin.
"Okay..." I said, closing my eyes.
"What could you possibly want to talk to me about? Wondering why I'm here and not with Draco?" I snapped. I had had quite enough of the comments people were making.
"Well, yes, it is about Malfoy – er... Draco," she said, correcting herself when I glowered at her.
"What about him?" I said, staring up at her. I swear... If she says anything insulting...
"Well, you lied to me and Ron about him, Harry. Obviously, we would think it's strange that you – kissed ... Malfoy – Uh, Draco – but we're your friends, Harry, you should be able to talk to us," Hermione said, a hand on Ron's arm to keep him quiet.
"Hermione, honestly. You kiss your worst enemy, who is the same sex as you on top of it all, and your best friends are shocked when you don't tell them. Let's think about that for a moment, shall we?" I snapped. She was never going to understand.
"Harry I know. But you lied! To me and to Ron. We know you've been sleeping in the Astronomy Tower with Draco, we've heard all the rumors. Now we want to know, from you, how much of it is true," Hermione said, tightening her grip on Ron when he opened his mouth to say something.
"How much of what is true?" I said, blinking. I hadn't heard any rumors... Only what was true.
"Well... I heard from some fifth year Ravenclaws yesterday that Draco takes you up there, puts the Imperious curse on you then rapes you..." Ron said, speaking for the first time in a rather dry voice.
"Excuse me? You both know perfectly well that I can throw off the Imperious curse," I said, brushing the entire thing to the side.
"Yes, well, that's what we thought, too. But last time it was imposter Moody putting on you...." Hermione started.
"Voldemort has put it on me, too. I fought it then as well. Anything else?" I said testily.
"Harry, honestly, we're just worried about you and you know it. Will you stop acting like... him and more like yourself?" Hermione said, grabbing my shoulders and shaking me.
"If by 'him' you mean Draco, I am not acting like him. I am acting like anyone in my position would. Will you please leave Draco out of this for five minutes?" I said the last part in a whisper. I couldn't stand to hear him insulted and dragged into conversations that way.
"I'm sorry Harry..." Hermione said, her expression saying quite plainly that she didn't know what to do.
A sudden thought struck me, and I had to ask her.
"Hermione, how did you find out about Draco and I anyway?" I said, looking at her.
"Well.... I saw you, in the corridor, when you said you were going to do Snape's essay..." She said, looking rather nervous, perhaps wondering how I'd react to knowing that she had spied on me.
Quite the contrary, actually. Dawning comprehension flooded my mind as I remembered that the sound of footsteps had been why me and Draco stopped kissing when we did...
"So it was you...." I said, continuing to stare blankly up at her.
"Pardon?"
"Draco and I heard footsteps... It must have been you... Why did you follow me?" I was getting over the firewall that the comprehension had created in my mind and was starting to feel the anger of having been spied on.
"I'm sorry, Harry.... I didn't mean to... I didn't even know you were around that corner..." Hermione said, looking genuinely sorry.
Ron, who had somehow managed to keep his temper for this long, finally exploded. Not at me, but at Hermione.
"What do you think you're doing? You're not going to get all snivelly and forgive him, are you? It's not even that he's with Malfoy, but it's the fact that he had to lie about it!" Ron said very loudly. Loud enough, in fact, to attract the attention of several first years, visibly terrifying them.
"Ron... You don't understand," I started to say.
Perhaps it was a horrible revelation for him to find out that his best friend was gay. Perhaps it was a truth that he would rather a falsehood than that his best friend was not only gay, but with both of our worst enemy. Perhaps. But that didn't excuse how he was treating me. Not by a long shot.
"What's not to understand?" Ron snapped. It was now Hermione's turn to fall completely silent.
"Everything," I snapped back.
"I understand perfectly. You'd rather be with Drakie-poo than with us," Ron said as though it settled the matter.
"Ron, that's insane. You're my best friend... Can't you just be happy for me?"
"It would be a lot easier to be happy for you if we weren't constantly worrying that he's going to curse you or something..." Hermione interjected.
"Hermione, for the last time, he isn't going to curse me. Ask him yourself and see what you think. He's sitting with us at dinner tonight," with that, I got up and left the common room. Dinner started in about a half an hour...
~*~
"Hello, Harry," Draco said, walking up behind me and massaging my shoulders for a moment before sitting down next to me. It was amazing how he could completely ignore all the stares and taunts... I wish I knew how he did it. "Hello," I said back, hugging him after he sat down. I, unlike him, felt myself blush at the looks that the simple touch earned us.
"Now then. I don't think that the two of you ever properly met Draco, have you..." I said, straining the words 'properly met'.
"No, I don't think we have..." Hermione said uncertainly, but extending her hand across the table to shake Draco's. Draco wrapped his free arm around my waist.
"At least Hermione is making an effort at being civil..." I thought to myself as Draco shook her hand. To my surprise, he was smiling, not cringing.
Ron had the ugliest look on his face that I had ever seen. He was glaring at Draco as though he were the reason that Christmas had been cancelled.
"What are you staring at Weasley?" Draco said, glaring back. I felt the arm that he had around me tighten in a physical effort to restrain his temper.
"Draco... Ron... Don't start," I said, giving them both a warning glance.
"I won't... If he doesn't," Draco said, loosening his grip.
I started to answer but Dumbledore rose to give his usual speech.
"Good evening, young students of Hogwarts. Some younger than others, obviously. I just have a few reminders for you, then we can get on with the meal. First, I would like to remind you that there is to be no dueling in the corridors. Secondly, I would like to point out that the Astronomy Tower is out of bounds except for classes and you would serve yourselves to stay away from there unless you're visiting for an educational purpose. With that said, enjoy your meal." Dumbledore finished his speech and sank back into his chair, at the precise moment that food began to magically appear on trays all over the tables.
My insides squirmed. I know that that speech and been directed at Draco and me... And I wasn't the only one who knew it. Blaise Zabini, for instance.
"Hey, Potter, Malfoy, did you like Dumbledore's speech? I guess that means no more midnight romps in the tower for you," he sniggered from just behind us, throwing bits of food at our backs.
"God damnit Zabini, stop it or I'll curse you into a million useless pieces!" Draco said after about fifteen minutes of this.
"No you won't. Dumbledore just said no dueling in the corridors," Zabini said, laughing but looking scared nonetheless.
"But this isn't a corridor, is it?" Draco whispered evilly and withdrawing his wand from his robes. "I don't care what you say about me, but stay away from Harry, he hasn't done anything to you."
At Draco's last words Ron dropped his fork, Hermione made a strangled noise of disbelief and Zabini, who had obviously taken the hint, was gaping soundlessly. I just felt a rush of gratitude the same as the one I had felt in the Slytherin Common Room.
"What?" Draco said, turning back toward Ron and Hermione and seeing the effect of his words.
"Oh look... A Malfoy capable of emotion," Ron said, mimicking Draco's bored drawl.
"Ron, don't!" I said, putting my fork down on my plate.
"Yes, I am, does this surprise you, Weasley?" Draco whispered dangerously, wrapping a protective arm around my waist.
"Yes, as a matter of fact, it does," Ron said, equal amounts of hate in his voice.
"Well, that doesn't surprise me. Look at where you were raised," Draco said loftily, taking another bite of his potatoes.
"Ron, Draco, STOP! You're driving me mad. It's bad enough with Zabini sitting back there throwing things at us without you two bickering like first years!" I shouted, pounding my fist angrily on the table.
Hermione looked a little surprised at my outburst, but nodded fervently in agreement.
"I'm sorry Harry..." they both whispered.
I felt bad for yelling at Draco, but it had been called for. I wanted more than anything to hug him right then, but I couldn't. There were too many people and this was neither the time nor the place. The only thing I felt about Ron was the inclination to hit him.
"Draco, I'm going to go for a walk..." I said, getting off the bench.
"Shall I go with you?" he asked me, grabbing at my hand before I could walk away.
"If you want..." I said slowly. I wanted to be by myself, but maybe being with Draco would help... It always had before.
He smiled and stood up, nodding a goodbye to Hermione.
Draco and I walked up to Gryffindor Tower, neither of us speaking until we were inside the common room.
He sank down into my favorite chair in front of the fireplace and I sat on the floor in front of him, resting my head on his knee.
"I'm sorry..." he whispered, his hands rubbing my shoulders.
"What for?" I whispered back, moving a little.
"For what I said to Ron... And about Blaise... And just everything..."
I didn't know what to say to that. I just wanted to hold him.
"Come on," I said, getting to my feet and lacing my fingers with his.
"Where?" he asked, blinking.
"Upstairs. There's no first years up there," I said, grinning. "And no Dobby, either." He snickered and got out of the chair to follow me up the steps. I pushed open to door to my dormitory and stepped inside. Draco shut the door behind us and we walked over to my four poster.
Nothing was said, just his lips pressing against mine. His right hand rubbed down my back while the left traveled carefully down my chest. One of my arms was wrapped around his neck and the other hung uselessly at my side.
He pulled away and gestured for me to lay down. Grinning, I pulled the blankets back and crawled underneath, waiting for him to follow. When he did, he turned me onto my back and straddled me just as I had him in the kitchens. I laughed at the memory of Dobby's squeaked protests, and Draco, perhaps reading my thoughts, laughed as well.
Draco leaned down and kissed me again, his chest and stomach pressing against mine as he did. My arms wrapped around him, both my hands rubbing up and down his back. I moaned a little when his lips moved over my cheek and down to my throat, where they teased relentlessly.
He stopped and pulled his own shirt off over his head, messing his brilliant blonde hair. I laughed. It was so cute to see him like that. Muscular chest and a beautiful face with his blonde hair everywhere.
"What exactly do you find so funny?" He asked, trying to sound angry at my laughing, but he was laughing himself.
"You," I said, grinning and running my hands over his chest.
In the moment before he answered me, I felt so many things at once it made me dizzy and weak. My green eyes stared up into his gray ones, looking deeper than they ever had before. I needed his kisses but I needed to hear his voice and I couldn't have both at once. I didn't have the strength in my arms to lift them any longer and they fell, my hands resting on his thighs.
"What about me?" Came his voice, breaking though my thoughts.
"Your hair is messed up," I said, grinning.
"Oh well," his voice came, in a whisper now.
His fingers snaked under my shirt, making movements to remove it. I sat up a little and he pulled it off over my head.
He leaned back down, his skin against me, his warm breath on my neck, his lips pressing to mine, his tongue teasing until I allowed him access, his tongue then massaging mine....
"What the hell?" came a voice that was neither mine nor Draco's.
Draco got off of me and lay down, pulling the blankets up around both me and him.
"Oh... Er... Hi, Ron..." I said awkwardly
Draco glared at him.
"What the hell are you doing?" Ron snapped, glaring right back at him.
"Well, we were kissing, now we're hiding from you under the blankets," Draco said. I couldn't argue with him, after all, it was true.
"Well, I think I'll just leave you at it before I get sick," Ron said, looking genuinely disgusted with what he had just witnessed.
"Can you lock the door behind you?" Draco asked in hopeful sarcasm. I laughed.
Ron just shook his head and left, slamming the door behind him.
Draco laughed and lay on his back, pulling me close and moving me so that my head was on his chest.
"Comfy Harry?" He whispered, kissing the top of my head.
I just nodded, my bare cheek rubbing his skin. I was suddenly very tired and just wanted to be held.
"I have never been more comfortable in my entire life..." I said quietly.
I draped an arm over his waist and took his hand, squeezing gently. His hand rubbed my bare back and I took a deep, shaking breath.
"I feel bad... About Ron...." I said, squirming a little.
"Don't be... Don't think about him right now... just rest, I can tell you're tired..." Draco whispered soothingly, petting my skin.
"Okay..." I said, closing my eyes.
